“You think I know what I’m doing?” I ask him, arching an eyebrow in his direction.
“I mean with how quickly you whipped Eli and Anders, yeah, I think you know what you’re doing.”
I shake my head and give him a small smile. “This is the first relationship I’ve been in too. I don’t know what I’m doing either. I just know that I’ve never wanted anything more. It may be that we’re scent matches. But is that the worst thing in the world? For the universe to bring us together like this?”
He shakes his head and looks away from me. “How are we supposed to play hockey with you hours away from us?” He rubs the side of his face and looks back at me. “I…I don’t know how I’ll do with you so far away and trying to focus. Hockey is all I’ve ever wanted, and now…”
“Now what?” I ask.
“There’s something else that I want just as much, and I can’t help but feel like it’s got to be one or the other. Hockey has always been how I measured myself, the one thing I’ve worked hard at and know that I’m fucking good at it. With this, with being someone’s Alpha? I have no fucking clue.”
“But you want to try?” I ask softly. It’s a bit of an internal struggle that I see on his face. He’s trying to follow his head and his heart at the same time. Maybe it’s my Omega nature, but I want his heart to win. For him to finally give in completely and admit that he wants this, that he wants me. That I’m worth it. Maybe Mikael and I both think that way. I’m not sure why I vocalize it, but I do. “I think you’re worth it.”
His dark gaze meets mine, his thick eyebrows furrowed as he looks at me. “What?”
“I think you’re worth it. All three of you. I don’t care if there’s distance and time and that it’s all so fucking complicated that sometimes when I think about the future I can’t breathe. I know that it will be worth it. You’re worth it, Mikael.”
His face turns from confused to soft, gentler than I’ve ever seen his face, as he leans closer. He’s so close that the air from his breath is touching my face. “You’re worth it too,” he says softly, and my breath hitches from his confession. Just as much as Mikael is giving in right now, so am I. The way he’s looking at me like he wants to devour me and make me promises, I’m ready to do the same for him. He doesn’t move to kiss me though, and I tilt my head in confusion.
“Mikael?” I touch his hand, and he groans, looking down at Hank, who is sitting between his legs, and then looking over at me.
“Don’t break me,” he says softly before he leans over and cups my chin with his gloved fingers. His gaze flickers between my eyes and lips before he leans in and kisses me. It’s chaste and delicate, honestly the polar opposite of how things have felt between us before today, and I bask in the softness. His hand glides to the nape of my neck as his kiss intensifies, and it lights my body on fire almost in a literal sense. It’s freezing outside, but I feel like I’ve been sitting by a furnace.
Mikael pulls back, and I pant, ready to straddle him on this cold bench. His brows are furrowed as he looks at me. “Charlotte?” I moan when he says my name and grip the collar of his jacket, then pull him down aggressively toward my lips. He takes what I give him, his tongue matching against mine, his lips soft and cold. He tastes like hot chocolate, and I can’t get enough. I want him to touch me more. Tell me that I’m his—theirs—again. Tell me how he was stupid for fighting this. The evidence is clear as we touch each other. It might be fate, stupid biology, but the proof is in this kiss. We’re meant for each other.
“Please,” I whimper as he parts from me again.
“Charlotte, are you okay?”
“Please, Alpha, I need you.” So bad, I need him to take me, knot me, bite me, prove to me that I’m his. He owes me that much. I need his claim more than I’ve ever needed anything.
He pulls off his glove and feels my face. “Fuck. Come on, Hank,” he says before he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. The caveman treatment just makes me more excited, my perfume thick even in the cold air. “Goddamn,” Mikael mutters a string of curses but doesn’t tell me his plans. As long as it ends up with me on my back or knees, I’ll be a happy Omega.
Mikael lets Hank in, who trails wet paw prints on the floor, and he curses before carrying me to Eli’s room. God, it smells good in here, especially now that Mikael’s smoky scent is in the mix. It makes me moan.
He puts me gently on the bed and leans down on his knees. Is he going to go down on me? Because that would definitely be an approved action. He doesn’t though, he just unlaces my boots and sits them in the corner before coming back to remove my hat. He pats down my blonde hair and looks at me delicately.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m going to get Anders and Eli.”
I grab his wrist and tug him closer to me. “No.”
“Charlotte.”
“No,” I tell him, unzipping his jacket. He does the rest of the work of tossing it on the floor. He takes his boots off with his feet, as I use every ounce of strength to drag him on top of me on the bed. The confusing Alpha goes to pull away again, and I shake my head. “No.”
“Charlotte,mon sucre d’érable.”I moan at his use of French, having no clue what it means, but the way he says it; I know it’s fucking good. “You’re going into heat. I have no fucking clue what I’m doing. We just kissed. I need to get Anders and Eli.”
“No.” I tug him down, a fist in his soft, dark hair and another around the collar of his Henley. “I need you, Alpha.” More than anything. He started this, him finally giving in, I know that. Now that all of my scent matches have given into me, it’s started my heat. Timing in my life has never been right, but at this moment, it feels so fucking right.
“What do you need,mon doux?Fuck, you smell good.”
“I taste better.”
He groans, taking his hands off of me and blowing onto them to make them warmer, before sitting up on his knees and rolling down my leggings. I’m a helpful Omega as I lift my feet and help him take them off. I’m even more helpful as I roll up my long sleeve T-shirt to my neck and slide the cups of my bra down, so my tits are exposed.
“Fuck,” Mikael hisses, leaning forward and sucking on a nipple while he cups my other breast. His cool skin feels nice, and I hold his head against my chest. I take in his scent and glow under his undivided attention.
He continues licking and sucking on my nipple, driving me crazy as his hand slides down my torso and cups my pussy. He squeezes me in a possessive way, like he’s letting me know my pussy belongs to him. I groan, and he laughs against my chest.
